Nazi Germany

Question 1

When was the Reichstag fire

Answer 1

27 Feb 1933

Question 2

What happened during the Reichstag fire

Answer 2

The Reichstag building was burned down. Police found a Dutch communist Van der Lubbe inside. He was arrested and found guilty of starting the fire.

Question 3

Why do people think Nazis started the fire

Answer 3

-the fire seemed too much of a coincidence in that it gave Hitler the ideal excuse to remove the communist party
-Hitler got to the fire quickly and immediately said it was the communists
-goring admitted to starting fire
-van der lubbe may have been manipulated

Question 4

Why do people think communists started the fire

Answer 4

-van der lubbe said he acted alone but he was part of the communist party
-van der lubbe admitted to doing it and his communist believes implicated the communist party

Question 5

What were the two effects of the Reichstag fire

Answer 5

-weakening of Nazi political opponents
-increased power and support for Nazi party

Question 6

How did the Reichstag fire weaken the Nazi’s political opponents

Answer 6

-4000 communist leaders were arrested and sent to concentration camps on the night of the fire
-the Reichstag fire decree allowed the Nazis to recruit 50,000 SA men into the police and abuse their emergency to arrest communists, shut down newspapers and break up meetings
-the SA became even more violent attacking and scaring nazi political opponents

Question 7

How did the Reichstag fire increase power and support for Nazi party

Answer 7

-people disliked the communist party so therefore the Nazis got more votes
-businessmen funded the nazis even more
-huge amounts of nazi propaganda were issues capitalising on the fire
-SA violence went unchecked intimidating voters

Question 8

What emergency decree was passed due to the Reichstag fire

Answer 8

The Reichstag fire decree

Question 9

What were the results of the election a week after the Reichstag fire

Answer 9

5th March 1933 Nazis recorded their best ever election result winning 288 seats however this was still not enough

Question 10

What was the enabling act

Answer 10

An act would allow Hitler as the chancellor to make laws without parliamentary consent. To do this he would need a two thirds majority

Question 11

How did Hitler get the Reichstag to pass the enabling act

Answer 11

-using the Reichstag fire decree passed by Hindenburg to prevent the 81 communist party members from taking their seats in the Reichstag
-he then gained support of the nationalist party which held 52 seats and the centre party which had 74 seats.
-having the SA surround the building to intimidate anyone who may vote against the enabling act and deny entry to the communists

Question 12

What did the enabling act mean

Answer 12

Hitler now had the powers of a dictator, Germany was no longer a democracy. There was no need for the Reichstag to meet and the Weinmar constitution ceased to matter

Question 13

How did Hitler use the enabling act

Answer 13

-nazis closed down all the separate state parliaments so Hitler could have the majority of the votes and be in full control over Germany
-the nazis broke into trade union offices and arrested their leaders as trade unions typically opposed nazis
-nazis suspended other parties so they could remove all other political oppositions

Question 14

What were the causes of the night of the long knives

Answer 14

-SA members were primarily loyal to Röhm not Hitler
-röhm was more socialist than Hitler so opposed his policies
-German army officers were worried that Röhm would replace the army with the SA
-leaders of the SS such as Himmler wanted to reduce influence of SA and increase their own status
-Röhm’s sexuality was seen as a stain upon the nazi party’s reputation
-in 1934 leaders of the SS and army warned Hitler that Röhm was planning a coup

Question 15

When was the night of the long knives

Answer 15

30th June 1934

Question 16

What happened during the night of the long knives

Answer 16

Röhm and 100 other SA leaders were called to a meeting with Hitler in Bavaria. Upon arriving, they were arrested, imprisoned and shot. Over the following days, more SA members and political rivals were executed with numbers totalling 400. This included 150 leading SA officers, General Von Schleicher, Gregor Strasser

Question 17

What were the two effects of the night of the long knives

Answer 17

Removal of Hitler’s political opponents
Increased support for Hitler and the Nazis

Question 18

How did the night of the long knives affect the removal of Hitler’s political opponents

Answer 18

-by removing Hitler’s main opponents it meant that Hitler had more power and no one threatened his position politically
-by killing the SA leaders and Röhm it meant the SA’s power was reduced and Hitler had full control over them

Question 19

How did the night of the long knives create increased support for Hitler and the nazis

Answer 19

-many of Hitler’s supporters thought it showed how Hitler had the courage to protect them from whoever threatened the Nazis
-the SS were glad that the SA had been weakened and the army were glad of this too so began to support Hitler

Question 20

When did Hitler become Führer

Answer 20

On the 2nd of August 1934 president Hindenburg died. Hitler immediately announced that he would combine the offices of chancellor and president and would rule Germany as Führer. He also announced the army’s oath of allegiance would be sworn to him personally not Germany

Question 21

What was the public vote for Hitler becoming Führer

Answer 21

A referendum was held on the 19th of August asking the public is they wanted Hitler as Führer and 90% voted yes

Question 22

How did Nazis control Germany through the use of the police state

Answer 22

• used the SS, gestapo and concentration camps
  -in the middle of the night the Gestapo would come and arrest people who were talking badly about Hitler
  -the Gestapo were used to create a atmosphere of fear and paranoia meaning nobody dared to speak out about the nazis
  -the SS and Gestapo had sweeping powers to remove opponents such as searching without warrants, arresting and imprisoning without trial, torture etc

Question 23

How did the nazis use censorship to control Germany

Answer 23

-it prevented criticism of the nazis in the media and art
-it meant that Germans were presents with only the nazi viewpoint
-the censorship made nazi propaganda even more effective as it was all that Germans could access

Question 24

Define censorship

Answer 24

The banning of information or ideas. Cencorship controls attitudes by forbidding certain information or opinions

Question 25

Define propaganda

Answer 25

Propaganda is designed to create and influence opinions. Propaganda uses tool such as the media, popular culture etc, to put ideas into peoples minds and shape their ideas and attitudes.

Question 26

How did Nazis use propaganda to control Germany

Answer 26

-lots of posters portraying Hitler as a great and powerful leader were put up everywhere, classrooms etc -the 1936 Berlin olympics were decorated heavily with the nazi symbol. -lots of rallies were created by the nazis and one time 200,000 people turned up

Question 27

How were concentration camps used to control Germany by the nazis

Answer 27

-Dachau was the first concentration camp set up in 1933 -located in isolated areas away from public view -used for questioning, torture and re-education -prisoners were used as hard labour and treated very badly -many died from illness, starvation or over work

Question 28

What was the Hitler cult of personality

Answer 28

Reinforced the idea that Hitler and the nazis were all powerful. Encouraged loyalty and adoration of Hitler

Question 29

Why did Nazis oppose the Catholic Church

Answer 29

-catholics owed their allegiance to the pope not Hitler -catholics supported the centre party, rival of nazis -catholic parents send children to catholic youth group rather than the Hitler youth -catholic schools did not teach the same curriculum as state school (nazified curriculum)

Question 30

How did nazis attempt to control the church

Answer 30

-1933 Hitler signed a concordat with pope Pius that meant catholics would be given freedom to worship and Hitler wouldn’t interfere with youth groups or schools. Catholics promised not to interfere with German politics and bishops swore loyalty to the nazi government -Hitler began to break the concordat within a year and nazi propaganda began to criticise the church -1937- Catholic youth was banned -400 priest sent to Dachau, catholic schools shut down and government funding for church removed

Question 31

What were the positive effects of nazi attempts to control church

Answer 31

-catholic influence was reduced due to catholic you and catholic schools being bannes -most vocal critics from within the church were arrested -reich church helped nazis control some protestants

Question 32

What were the negative affects of the nazi attempt to control the church

Answer 32

-Nazis were unable to remove the influence of Christianity as churches continued to be heavily attended -Nazis were criticise heavily by influential church leaders such as Pope Niemoller and those who died were glorified as Martyrs

Question 33

What was the Reich church

Answer 33

A nazi controlled protestant church

Question 34

What were the nazi views of women

Answer 34

-the ideal woman was focused on motherhood and housework with no job outside the home -believed they were equally as important as men but had a different role to play as they wanted to increase the birth rate to build an aryan race

Question 35

What were the nazi policies towards women

Answer 35

-law for the encouragement of marriage 1933 which provided loans for young couples to get married only if the wife stopped work+ for every child born 1/4 of the loan was written off (this encouraged women to leave work and have children) -mothers cross medals were a reward for childbirth -the Lebensborn programmer introduced in 1935 by Himmler to provide financial aid to women who had kids with SS men as it helped produce the Aryan race and increase birth rates -1933 woman were banned from jobs such as doctors, teachers and civil servants -1936 became illegal for women to work as lawyers or judged -school curriculums changed to prepare girls for becoming housewives and mother in order to indoctrinate them from a young ages

Question 36

How successful were nazi policies in increasing marriage and birth rates

Answer 36

-from 1933-39 increase in marriages but also divorce rates. Increase in birth rates from 1 mill to 1.4 mill -quite successful as rates did increase but not massively

Question 37

How successful were nazi policies in reducing women in employment

Answer 37

-from 1933-39 number or working women increased from 4.8 mill to 7.1 mill. However many of these jobs were in labour industries rather than professions -fewer women attended university and employment rates among men increased -only slightly successful as they didn’t get woman out of work but they changed what jobs they were doing

Question 38

What was the youth education policy

Answer 38

-children’s curriculum was nazified -textbooks and teachers were used to convey Nazi ideas -subjects such as race study which showed the superiority of the aryan race and domestic science where girls learnt housework and boys studied military drilling -history facts were distorted to glorify Germans -nationalistic -15% of school was sport to prepare boys for military and make healthy mothers -Hitler glorified in schools

Question 39

What was the affect of the youth education policy

Answer 39

German children were indoctrinated before being exposed to other ideas

Question 40

What was the nazi youth movement

Answer 40

-1933 all non nazi youth groups were banned -1939 compulsory for all German children 10+ to join at least 1 -members had to swear an oath of loyalty and inform is anyone criticised nazis -lots of sport

Question 41

How did the nazi youth movement allows nazis to control germany

Answer 41

Monopolised people’s time and had constant exposure of nazi views from a young age. Reinforced traditional gender roles. Enforced loyalty to Hitler above family

Question 42

What were the positives of nazi youth policies

Answer 42

-membership across all groups increased from 100,000 in 1932-8 mill in 1939 -many children enjoyed the activities -complete control of education system outside of school

Question 43

What were the negatives of nazi youth policies

Answer 43

-3 mil people did not join youth groups before compulsory -did not develop skills required for leadership -limited resistance from some members

Question 44

What minority groups did the nazis target

Answer 44

-gypsies -slavs -disabled/mentally ill -homosexuals -black people -Jews

Question 45

What were the reasons for anti-semitism

Answer 45

-Hitler blamed Jews for Germanys defeat in WWII and the fallout -prosperity of the Jews as many were successful businessmen and were resented by some Germans

Question 46

What were some anti semitic economic and social measures

Answer 46

-business boycott march 1933, official boycott of Jewish owned business, doctors and laws firms -by 1939 Jewish people were banned from running businesses -1933 Hitler ordered any non-Aryan government employees to be sacked -1934 councils banned Jews from public spaces -1935 Jewish banned from serving in army -1938 Jewish children excluded from schools and Jews forced to carry identity cards -1938 Jewish doctors, dentists, lawyers forbidden to treat or work for aryans

Question 47

What were the Nuremberg laws

Answer 47

-1935 laws defining the status of the Jews and withdrawing citizenship from people of non German blood -removed of right to vote, hold office and German passports -forbade Jews from marrying German citizens

Question 48

What were the effects of nazi policies on Jews

Answer 48

Social-Jews were excluded from German society Economic- Jews prevented from owning businesses and holding certain jobs so much harder to earn living Political-Jews no longer had political or legal powers or rights

Question 49

What was the cause of Kristellnacht

Answer 49

-November 1938 -a polish jew (Grynszpan) walked into German embassy in Paris and open fired on a random German (Ernst vom Rath). He later died from his injuries -Goebbels used the incident to incite violence against Jews with articles condemning it and the SS attacking Jewish homes + synagogues

Question 50

What happened during Kristellnacht

Answer 50

-the night of broken glass on the 9th nov 1938 nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues throughout Germany -191 synagogues set alight -171 homes demolished -almost 100 Jews killed -20,000 arrested + sent to concentration camps -Jews fined 1 billion for destruction

Question 51

What were the effects of Kristellnacht

Answer 51

-Jan 1939 nazis decide to evict all Jews from Germany and confiscate their property -September 1939-October 1941 the number of Jews in Germany decreased from 200,000 to 163,000

Question 52

When was the new plan

Answer 52

1933-37

Question 53

What was the new plan

Answer 53

-Schact’s policy aimed to reduce unemployment and make Germany self-sufficient -plan coincided with the economic revival at end of depression -signed trade deals with individual countries and began infrastructure projects -as a result in 1935 Germany had a small trade surplus and production had increase 50% since 1933 -the profits were used to fund rearmament -Schact resigned in 1937 because he believed the German economy was not strong enough for a war

Question 54

When was the four year plan

Answer 54

1936-40

Question 55

What was the four year plan

Answer 55

-led by Goëring -plan focused on making Germany ready for war by the end of the four year time limit -businesses switched production to make synthetic materials such as petrol -weapons production was prioritised over consumer goods which led to food shortages -1939 Germany had to import 1/3 or raw materials and had a debt of 40 bil marks -army rose to 900,000 men

Question 56

What were the unemployment stats from 1933 to 1939

Answer 56

1933-6 million 1939- 500,000

Question 57

What were nazi policies to reduce unemployment

Answer 57

-new and four year plans -public works -national labour service- labour conscription for all unmarried med aged 18-25 -subsidiation of businesses- nazis paid private businesses to create jobs

Question 58

What was nazi success in reducing unemployment

Answer 58

-quite successful despite lying about 1 mill people -legitimately created 4.5 mill jobs

Question 59

What was the German labour front

Answer 59

-replacement fro banned trade unions -not set up with workers rights in mind but to ensure industry ran efficiently and production increased -more work without paying people more -created a sense of common spirit among workers

Question 60

What was the strength through joy

Answer 60

-ran activities for workers in free time with aim of increasing happiness, motivation, productivity -hardest workers got best rewards

Question 61

What was the beauty of labour

Answer 61

-improved working conditions in factories by campaigning for workers to build better facilities -workers who did this were given tax breaks -nazis claimed that by 1938 nearly 34,000 companies had improved facilities -however companies expected workers to do this in their own time with no extra pay

Question 62

What were the pay and hours like in nazi jobs

Answer 62

-workers were paid according to how much work they did -cost of living increased -food shortages became more common -nazis banned national and local pay rate